1. Field of Invention
The present invention is related to performance monitoring in wireless networks.
2. Discussion of Related Art
With the advent of wireless data networks, wireless devices are capable of establishing connections to communication nodes (e.g., Internet nodes) using a variety of different wireless networks, standards and protocols. Generally, such connections require that the communication nodes be identified (e.g., using an Internet Protocol (IP) address) and that appropriate communication protocols be used. However, even with the use of appropriate connection addresses and protocols, an attempt to make a connection, either from a wireless device to a destination node in a communication network or from a source node in a communication network to the wireless device, may fail for a variety of different reasons.
Conventional methods of monitoring the performance of wireless networks are generally based on a client-server approach in which both the client and the server are installed in the same domain. The term “domain” as used herein is intended to refer to a wireless network operated by one wireless operator. In such a conventional performance monitoring method, service monitoring is initiated by a server which sends instructions to the wireless device to conduct predefined tests. The server receives the results data from these tests and can use the data to monitor performance in the network domain. Any loss of connection during the test is considered a failure and such tests are ignored. This approach requires interaction between the wireless device and a fixed server. However, in wireless networks, the assumption that the two ends of the connection (device side and server side) are reachable at all times is not valid. Furthermore, data relating to failed attempts to establish a connection from the wireless device to the server are not measured with these tests.
Another drawback to the conventional client-server performance monitoring approach involves mobility. Wireless devices connect to different networks as the user moves. However, the servers which initiate the tests in conventional performance monitoring systems are fixed and are associated with specific domains and cannot operate across multiple domains. Therefore, performance data can only be collected by the server when the wireless device and the server are connected to the same network. When a user moves to a different network, the performance-monitoring server may not be accessible to the wireless device